Event Details

Have you ever read a piece about parenting, or on another subject that you know something about or feel passionate about, and thought to yourself: I could do that?

If so, this course is for you. Because provided you've got a bit of talent with words, and you're curious about the world and how it works, you can be published.

Freelance writing is a varied, interesting and absorbing way to have your say and to earn money - and with online markets in particular expanding enormously at the moment, it has lots of potential.

Course requirements: this course is aimed at would-be writers who might have honed their skills on contributing to websites like Mumsnet and who want to start being commissioned rather than just pitching in with comments on other people's views.

Before the course, students will be asked to think about the kind of magazines/newspapers/websites they would like to write for and to come to the course armed with examples of potential outlets.

What's Included

Coming up with sellable ideas, working out which market is right for you, pitching to commissioning editors and delivering your copy are all covered in this course, as is how to carve out time for the researching and writing when you're up against the constraints of another job or the demands of parenting.

We'll also look at the all-important question of how to break into the market, about what editors expect from you, and about how to keep your writing fresh and fascinating.

Tutor Details

Joanna Moorhead is a freelance writer. She works mostly for the Guardian (especially for the Family section on a Saturday) and for a whole range of other outlets including the Independent and Independent on Sunday; Good Housekeeping magazine; Psychologies; YOU magazine and Mumsnet (for whom she writes some of the core content sections). She writes mostly about families and family life and has been steeped in it herself for the last 20 years as a mother of four daughters, currently aged 10, 13, 17 and 20. Her career has, roughly speaking, followed the stages her own children were at - ie she wrote about babies and breastfeeding when she was giving birth and raising young children, and now she is up to her eyes in student finance applications and teenage drinking issues, she writes about those instead. She also makes occasional forays into entirely different areas of journalism, eg arts journalism, and also dabbles from time to time in radio - she recently finished making a second arts documentary for Radio 3. She travels widely with her work, although she is not a travel writer.

More Information

The course will take place in Central London from Saturday 26 - Sunday 27 January 2013

Organizer

Mumsnet Academy

We're very excited to be launching The Mumsnet Academy - a brand new enterprise which aims to curate a portfolio of fantastic courses to fit around family commitments and busy working lives.

A while back we asked you what courses you would like and the programme of masterclasses, workshops, and events we've come up with is a reflection of your responses.

To help us deliver the programme we have enlisted some fabulous experts in a range of fields as well as teaming up with some great partners who have a reputation for delivering high-quality, life-changing courses.

This collaborative approach allows us to offer a programme across a range of different subjects including entrepreneurship, business, technology, social media, blogging, history of art, creative writing, publishing, gardening, philosophy, finance, fashion as well as courses concerned with self-improvement and the concept of learning to live wisely and well. Some of these courses will be skill-based, while others will explore concepts, theory and ideas.

If we've missed something you think is a must, fear not, we will be adding classes to our portfolio all the time so please drop us a line or complete the suggestion box on our website.

One of the things that we felt was important was to ensure our Academy courses are available across the UK and we are pleased to announce that we will be running events in Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Manchester from day one. We are also keen to develop some online courses and hope to announce the first of these later this year.

While our courses are scheduled at times which are more convenient for those with young children, they are absolutely open to everyone. Ultimately, the overall aim of the Mumsnet Academy is to bring people together in a thought-provoking and fulfilling environment where there is a universal willingness to explore ideas, develop skills, and learn from experts as well from each other.